1. Field
The present disclosure relates to a dust collecting apparatus for a vacuum cleaner, and more particularly to a dust collecting apparatus which can separate large-sized dirt and fine dust through a multi-stage process.
2. Description of the Related Art
A dust collecting apparatus provided in a vacuum cleaner separates dirt and dust from sucked external air. Recently, a so-called cyclone dust collecting apparatus which does not use a dust envelope and can be used semipermanently has been widely used. In the dust collecting apparatus, the dust contained in the sucked air is separated due to a difference in centrifugal force between the air and the dust caused by rotating the air.
A conventional dust collecting apparatus in which the dust contained in the sucked air is separated through a multi-stage process is disclosed in Korean Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2000-0074149. The conventional dust collecting apparatus has a two-divided structure that the dust is separated firstly in a first dust collecting chamber by using the force of gravity and then separated secondarily in a second dust collecting chamber by using centrifugal force. Also, the dust collecting apparatus has a separate filter between the first and second dust collecting chambers.
However, in the conventional dust collecting apparatus, since an air suction part of the first dust collecting chamber and an exhaust part of the second cyclone dust collecting chamber are positioned collinearly, there is a disadvantage that it can not expect to obtain proper dust collecting efficiency without the filter. Further, another problem is that the filter should be periodically cleaned to remove the dust and dirt attached on the filter, since the dust and dirt are attached and accumulated on the filter.
Further, since the conventional dust collecting apparatus has a single cyclone chamber and thus has a suction and exhaust flow path having a narrow sectional area, it can not expect to obtain a high suction force and it is also apprehended that the suction force is further lowered when the filter is choked up with the dust and dirt.
Furthermore, in the conventional dust collecting apparatus, since the first and second dust collecting chambers are not visible from the outside, when the dirt sucked in the dust collecting apparatus has a large size, the user can not know where the large-sized dirt is caught in the collecting apparatus. In order to check where the large-sized dirt is caught in the collecting apparatus, the user has to stop the operation of the vacuum cleaner and separate the dust collecting apparatus from a cleaner body and open a cover and then check the inside of the dust collecting apparatus.